An inmate lawsuit against a local jail can mean financial disaster if that facility is not following the letter of the constantly changing federal law.

For the third year in a row, the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office is spear-heading legal based jail training, attracting jail administrators from across the state.

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"A mistake on our part could be financially devastating," said Washington Parish Chief Deputy Mike Haley, "Not only to the Sheriff's Office, but also to the parish."

Facing a mountain of debt three years ago, the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office moved to protect itself and its inmates, bringing in experts to make sure jail administrators were up to date on the latest federal case law. Now, for a third year in a row, the experts return to New Orleans, attracting administrators from across the state.

"Managing a jail is risk management," Haley said. "We need to know what the law says so that we can operate our jails according to the law and so that we can be in a defensible position."

Gary DeLand of the National Institute for Jail Operations understands the pitfalls. He’s considered one of the leading experts in the field.

"I've been criticized by some for not trying to reform corrections, but just teach people how to not to lose in court," DeLand said. "But guess what, you don't lose in court by doing what you're supposed to do."

The NIJO makes it their business to stay abreast of changes in the law and then pass it along to jail administrators for everyone's protection.

"If I'm running a jail where I'm not providing inmates what they should be getting, legally should be getting, my food service, my medical service, those kinds of things are below par, now I know I got to do this to keep my butt out of court, then that helps the inmates,” DeLand said.

"We cannot stop inmates from suing us," Haley said. "We can't stop that, but we can make ourselves defensible so that we get summary judgments on most of our cases."

While it may seem ironic that this kind of training is being pushed by Washington Parish authorities, DeLand said the Northshore parish took the lead "anticipating what was needed in the Louisiana, and then finding the people who could provide that and then bringing us in."

Each year, the legal landscape changes; most recently, court rulings regarding inmates' religious rights and use of force standard for inmates awaiting trial.